“The Lord watches over the sojourners; He upholds the widow and the fatherless…” Psalm 146:9
He’s ten years old and he has already experienced more hardship than most of the world. He jokes and laughs, sings at the top of his lungs, and splashes all over the pool; he plays like nothing troubles him, but his eyes tell a different story. The more time I spend with Benji, the more I fall in love with him. He’s in my kindergarten class and he stuck out to me from day one; partially because he is so much older than the rest of the kindergarteners and I wanted to know his story, and mostly because there is something about him that is so special to me. I remember the first day of kindergarten, the class sang a song and Benji was belting it out so loud. It made me smile, and he loved that he made me smile. Ever since that moment, we have been buddies. He lives at the children home, so I get to spend quite a bit of time with him between my time at the school and my time at the children’s home. I found out the other day that Benji was a street kid, and was abandoned by his parents. The local police found him on the bench outside of the police station sleeping. They fed him and let him sleep there for several weeks, and finally when they realized no one was coming back for him, they got him connected to the children’s home. About a year and a half ago, Benji moved into the children’s home and they put him in school and started giving him a healthy foundation. The caretakers at the children’s home say that Benji has changed so much in the past year and a half. He came in very broken and angry. He had a temper and was very hostile. They have seen an incredible change in him. He still will not talk about anything that has happened to him, but they are hoping one day he will open up about it. The Benji I know is loving, takes care of the younger children, loves to learn, loves to sing, and loves to talk about Jesus. His love for Jesus amazes me and his faith humbles me.
Last night we had a sleep over at the children’s home. We were all in a big room and watched a movie and ate popcorn. Benji was next to me and we had a good time joking around and playing. Later on in the night, I kept falling asleep and he kept waking me up and poking me. I kept hearing his cute little laugh and I would just laugh and poke him back. As he started winding down and falling asleep, I watched him peacefully snuggle up with his blanket. I hurt for him. I imagined him sleeping on the bench outside of the police station, and I wondered what he thought about, what scared him, what he experienced as a child. I couldn’t sleep because he was on my heart so much. I wrote in my prayer journal all the questions filling my mind. The more I prayed for him, the more I saw redemption in Benji’s life. God is taking care of him. God is restoring his life, and giving him love and security. God is taking a mess of a situation, and revealing His glory and power. And it hit me last night…this is what the Lord does. In the midst of sin, selfishness, and chaos…He shows His power and takes back what is His. Benji is HIS. The Lord rescued Benji. Even at such a young age, Benji sees this and loves his Heavenly Father.
“You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; He also hears their cry and saves them.” Psalm 145:16-19
